This is the moment where Buffy becomes a true hero. In the end, she sacrifices her one true love to save the world. It's something selfless, soul-destroying, and painful. But it's necessary. Following her destiny, she puts the world before herself. It's heartbreaking to watch her face as she reunites with Angel, only to realize the world is ending and that she has to do the inevitable deed to save the day. But, as the credits close and we join in with the Grr... Aargh! vamp at the end and ask for a hug, it's not just Angel she has lost. She's lost her home, her education, she's presumably still a murder suspect, she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders, she feels responsible for the attack on her friends. She's lost everything, and in her best 'homeless woman' pants, flees town. It's a devastating ending, one of the most poignant moments the show ever depicted.Becoming Part 2 is explosive from beginning to end, with various sprinkles of humor and pathos throughout. One of the greatest achievements is the team-up between Buffy and Spike, marked by that mutual feeling of distrust and hatred (as well as sexual chemistry, especially on Spike's part). They're hilarious together, and I also loved Spike's casual interaction with Joyce and their brief dialogue about their previous encounter.
But most of the hour was taken up by hurt, everybody suffering in some form. Xander is hurt over Willow's love for Oz, he's still bitter about Angel and therefore doesn't tell Buffy about the ritual (damn, Xander's a pain in the ass). Then there's Giles, repeatedly tortured by Angelus and forced to experience a painful reminder of the love he recently lost. He has it rough, that guy. Willow, too, is injured and hospitalized, but manages to pull herself together to perform the ritual and ends up taken over by some almighty power. Yikes. Foreshadowing, people!
I'm not sure Joyce's discovery of Buffy's secret identity was played as well as it should have been, but I'm assuming the show didn't have the time to elaborate further. The way it's played isn't entirely believable, even if there is a heavy degree of denial on Joyce's part, like she had a feeling about it already. But Buffy ignoring her mother and abandoning her home life was necessary in giving her the strength to become that lone wolf she needed to be to kill Angel. Like Whistler said, she'll "always be alone", and sometimes in a moment of crisis you need to cut ties to break out of it.
Buffy's second season hasn't at all been perfect, but its arc episodes raised the bar in such a way that the series truly became event television, something that is funny and endearing and true. It's a testament to the characters and the writing that so much of this year has been so affecting. A+
Credits
Guest stars Max Perlich (Whistler); Seth Green (Oz); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Robia LaMorte (Jenny Calendar); James G. MacDonald (Detective Stein); James Marsters (Spike); Juliet Landau (Drusilla); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Writer Joss Whedon Director Joss Whedon
"I'm not sure Joyce's discovery of Buffy's secret identity was played as well as it should have been, but I'm assuming the show didn't have the time to elaborate further. The way it's played isn't entirely believable, even if there is a heavy degree of denial on Joyce's part, like she had a feeling about it already."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you realize this, but Joyce finding out that Buffy is the slayer plays out a lot like a LGBT person coming out to a parent. I'm fairly certain Joss did that on purpose and I think it is perfect. Sure, some of the lines seem a little odd "Have you tried not being a slayer?" "It's because you didn't have a father figure, isn't it?!" But these are exactly the lines that usually accompany coming out scenes. So maybe this isn't a perfect scene, but as a member of the LGBT community, it is vindicating and refreshing to see this kind of scene in a show like Buffy. (Obviously I don't speak for the LGBT community as a whole, just as myself who happens to be part of it.)